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Sharks draw first blood
Defensive gem leads to 2-0 win
4/26/07 -
by
Mike Lee
Hockeytown turned out to be the best place the
Sharks could showcase their defensive skills, putting on a clinic in San Jose's
2-0 win over the host Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Thursday night.
Louis would have been proud of the 1-2 combination the Sharks threw at the Red
Wings in the opening period, scoring a pair of goals 24 seconds apart.
Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov looked more like vintage Dominik Hasek,
turning aside all 34 shots he faced en route to his 5th career playoff shutout.
Conversely, Hasek only faced 19 shots all night, including 3 in the 2nd
period, but 2 of those shots found the back of the net midway through the 1st
period.
The series opening shutout was the 4th in Red Wings history.
Not knowing what to expect from each other, both teams used the first 5 minutes
of the contest to feel each other out, playing tentatively in the offensive
zone. Pavel Datsyuk had a chance to score early when a pin-balling puck ended
up on his stick as he sat parked on the Sharks doorstep. Nabokov calmly
centered himself in goal to deny the Red Wings sniper, who hesitated to get off
a shot.
The Sharks broke the ice, midway through the opening period when Matt Carle
deposited a Joe Thornton pass past Hasek on the power play after Niklas
Lidstrom was sent to the penalty box for hooking. Thornton weaved a centering
pass through the slot from his perch down low in the right corner. Carle cut
backdoor up the left wing, one-timing the pass for the 1-0 lead.
Mike Grier struck on the very next shift, converting a Red Wings turnover into
his 2nd goal of the playoffs. Curtis Brown intercepted a clearing pass at the
blueline, before chipping it to Patrick Rissmiller. The rookie forward
overskated the pass, but got enough of it with his stick to redirect is to the
low slot. Grier swatted at it, while spinning away from Mathieu Schneider to
beat Hasek with a blast that found the net just inside the left post.
Detroit head coach Mike Babcock would use his timeout to regroup the stunned
Red Wings, but the offensive damage had been done.
San Jose opened the door for the Red Wings in the 2nd period, by starting a
parade to the penalty box. Marc-Edouard Vlasic was sent off for chipping the
puck over the glass at 6:53. The Sharks killed Vlasic's penalty by out-skating
the Wings.
Thornton would commit a questionable tripping penalty behind the Red Wings net
three minutes later, while the Sharks were pressing on the forecheck. Detroit
would put 10 shots on Nabokov, primarily on the power play, which included
another tripping infraction to Sharks defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.
Kirk Maltby came as close to scoring as Detroit was going to get all night, but
ringing a shot off the cross bar late in the period.
A strong presence in the neutral zone would contain the Red Wings who tried to
open the game up by moving more of the attack to the outside, but San Jose
defense buckled down. Detroit would out shoot the Sharks 13-6 in the final
period, but Nabokov made the saves and contained the puck without giving up any
rebounds for Detroit to capitalize on.
Babcock pulled Hasek with 1:28 to play, but the Red Wings couldn't muster much
offensively. Todd Bertuzzi would attempt a wraparound try with 2 seconds left
on the clock, but Nabokov calmly brushed it aside, as the Sharks brushed aside
the Red Wings for the series opening win.
Notes:
Detroit had several players on the shelf, including Tomas Holmstrom (eye),
Brett Lebda (ankle, concussion), and Niklas Kronwall (back). Henrik Zetterberg
skated, even though he's nursing a herniated disk in his back. The Sharks are
still without the services of Mark Smith.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| DET |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| 1st period - 1, SJ, Carle 2 (Thornton,
Clowe), 9:45, (pp). 2, SJ,
Grier 2 (Rissmiller, Brown), 10:09.
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| 1st period - Lidstrom, DET (hooking),
8:17. |
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| 2nd period - Vlasic, SJ (delay of game -
puck over glass), 6:53; Thornton, SJ (tripping), 9:35; Ehrhoff, SJ (tripping),
13:59. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| SJ - Nabokov |
34 |
34 |
| DET - Hasek |
19 |
17 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| SJ |
10 |
3 |
6 |
19 |
| DET |
11 |
10 |
13 |
34 |
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| Referees: Paul Devorski, Dennis LaRue. Linesmen:
Greg Devorski, Brad Lazarowich. |
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